Kelvin Resolutions
by Redemption's Avenger
Summary: Novelization of 'Terminal Expanse.' The crew of the Redemption are bored. Stuck patrolling the Romulan border, action has been nonexistent. But then Daniels appears, offering a mission that Wedge knows he can't deny. Yet again, the crew cross universes to help a timeline similar, yet drastically different from their own, making new friends, while fighting old enemies.
1. Chapter 1

_You can't have my life,_  
 _I'm not your sacrifice._  
 _You can try, but I'm free,_  
 _And you won't conquer me._

 _I won't crawl,_  
 _Most of all,_  
 _I won't fall,_  
 _For you._

 _-Sacrifice, Casey Lee Williams_

* * *

I was bored.

The _Redemption_ had been assigned to patrolling the Romulan Star Empire border, and so far, nothing had happened.

For the past _twenty_ days.

Now, you must understand, on _this_ ship, unusual things happened. A _lot._ It was both weird and welcome.

But so far, nothing, _nothing_ , had so much as _breathed_ in the ship's direction. No ship, no celestial being, nothing.

Frankly, I was surprised the crew hadn't mutinied yet. Holodeck use had risen fifty percent, pranks and practical jokes between people and departments had risen twenty percent, and we already had two separate altercations.

Hell, even Thrum, the ship's _AI_ , was bored!

Sighing, I stood up and walked to the turbolift. I didn't need to say anything to Tallasa, she knew what to do.

I made my way down to Engineering to begin my rounds.

"What going on, Thorin?" I asked my Chief engineer, watching the warp core pulse and thrum.

"Same old, same old." The Andorian reported. "Everything's the same as it's been for the past twenty days." His antennae curled in irritation.

"How's the engineering crew?"

Thorin sighed. "Bored. I've had to disarm a couple pranks here and there, and I'm pretty sure Jayden and Matt are fucking each other for fun..." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jayden duck back towards her console, trying to hide her blush. "...but other than that, nothing to compromise the ship."

"What about you?" I asked.

Thorin smirked. "I've been mostly studying the Furling technology Thrum has on memory, seeing if it can be adapted to our tech and ships. Granted, I'm far from the most qualified to figure that stuff out. Pinkerton is probably the one you want to go to."

"What about the Unigate?" I asked, referring to the massive, universe-crossing portal that we had encountered a couple months ago.

Thorin laughed, antennae curling outward in mirth. "Sir, _Ronald Pinkerton,_ the man who can upgrade or make _anything,_ is having trouble understanding that ring. I'm not gonna do a _thing."_

I chuckled. "Forget I asked." I patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave the cavernous room, making my way into another turbolift. "Deck two, phaser cannon control."

I hummed out a tuneless beat, and without thinking stepped out of the lift when it came to a stop.

I blinked as I realized where I was, then slouched. "What do you want, Daniels?"

Temporal Agent Daniels stepped out of a hologram in the temporal briefing room. "We need your help, Admiral."

I sighed. "I know _that,_ you wouldn't _be_ here if you didn't. _Why_ do you need me?"

Daniels smiled, but the effect was diminished by the strange, burn-like scars marring his face that had appeared last time we saw each other. "On point, as ever." He waved a hand and the constant flow of holograms faded back and several new ones moved to the fore.

"We have discovered that the Sphere Builders have been conducting operations in other _universes_." Images of the Spheres flashed across the hologram. "They aren't looking to make changes to time, but to other _timelines_ as well."

I crossed my arms. The Sphere Builders were a race of trans-dimensional aliens that were incapable of living in our own realm of space. Back in the 22nd century, the Builders had attempted to destroy Earth by proxy of the Xindi, after which they would use the spheres they had built in the Delphic Expanse to make a bubble of space in our dimension that they could live in - at the expense of every other living being in bubble.

Many had speculated that if that Expanse formed completely, the Builders could have even converted the entire galaxy into their own space. Were it not for the valiant acts of courage and sacrifice of the NX-01 _Enterprise_ and her crew, that may have very well happened.

"So why does this affect us?" I asked.

"The techniques they find in these universes will allow them to build more spheres in _our_ universe. It's something we have to stop."

I sighed and thought about it. Really, some action would be good for the crew, and I was never one to deny help to others, even if _they_ weren't asking for it.

"So, how are we getting there?"

Daniels smiled. "Shortly, a device should be appearing in Engineering. It's a Unigate generator, and, when tuned to your temporal matrix, should take us back to the temporal incursion."

I really shouldn't be surprised that universe-crossing technology had been developed in the future, but it was nice to know.

I nodded. "I'll get Thorin on it. Anything I should know about this universe?"

The agent grimaced. "This timeline is a variant of our own timeline, with one crucial difference. When Ambassador Spock used red matter to stop the Hobus supernova, he was attacked by a Romulan named Nero and his ship, the _Narada._ Both ships were drawn into the black hole, but the _Narada_ went first. When she came out on the other side, she encountered the USS _Kelvin._ The _Kelvin_ was destroyed when she rammed the _Narada_ to buy time for the escape vessels." Daniels sighed. "On board the _Kelvin_ at the time was Commander George Kirk. He died saving the crew and his newborn son."

"James T. Kirk." I finished.

He nodded. "Without the guidance of his father, Kirk turned out much differently. That, the continued presence of the _Narada,_ and Ambassador Spock led to many major changes, including the destruction of Vulcan. While following a rough outline, this universe is _very_ different compared to ours."

I sighed, thinking things over. "I'll inform the crew. We should be ready by tomorrow."

* * *

 **The Next Day**

 **Bridge**

* * *

"Time matrix stable." Thrum, the ship's Furling AI, reported. "Unigate generator ready."

I nodded. "Straa, ship status?"

The Caitian female started listing off. "Phaser cannons ready, phaser banks charged. Torpedo tubes loaded with quantum torpedoes. VATA tubes loaded. Shields ready at one hundred percent. _Redeemer_ and Liberator wing report standby ready." Straa turned to face me. "All departments report ready."

"Good." I keyed the intercom. "Thorin, activate the generators."

The background noise of the ship increased in pitch, before a wave much like the activation of a Stargate formed in front of the ship and washed over the battlecruiser, sending her across time and universes.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Welp, another one that came out of nowhere. A bit of surprise, (curse my muse!) even for myself, but this will lay out some groundwork for future fics, not only mine, but HeartofFyrwinde's as well.**

 **I do hope that you will enjoy my personal take of the STO mission 'Terminal Expanse.' It's been awhile since I've done a novelization of a game mission, so I do hope you enjoy it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Kelvin Timeline**

 **USS _Nemesis_**

* * *

Captain Tori Reagan watched as the ship's warp bubble collapsed and the warp tunnel faded back to stars.

Standing out most prominently on the screen was a large sphere that she knew well. After all, what kind of Intelligence operative would she be if she didn't know everything there was to know about her target and her enemy?

Starfleet had found out about the spheres two weeks ago when a Tellarite freighter reported strange gravatic fluctuations and spatial disturbances. After analyzing the sensor data, Starfleet Intelligence knew what it was.

The Sphere Builders had returned.

As soon as this fact was revealed, an emergency session of the Federation Council was called to address this problem, and the agreement was unanimous. The threat needed to be dealt with, now.

Starfleet was put on high alert and their forces were mobilized. Command had sent the _Enterprise_ to investigate, and, if possible, to destroy the sphere. Part of this decision was not only the crew's exceptional track record, or the ship's infamous luck, but the fact that the NX-01's descendant was there might persuade the Builders to back off.

That didn't work, but the _Enterprise_ luck did pull out.

0718, one of the ship's science officers and a human cyborg, had analysed the sphere's sensor data and used his enhanced brain to find structural weaknesses. He led a team inside and planted charges at the weak points. The explosives caused the sphere to collapse in on itself.

That sphere, however, was one of many, and, not the command sphere.

With the knowledge obtained from the expedition, several more spheres were destroyed by properly equipped ships, and enough data was recovered to find the command sphere.

The _Enterprise_ needed repairs from a battle with some Klingons the Builders had persuaded to work as proxy, but the threat was still there, so they sent someone else to deal with the command sphere.

Captain Reagan and the _Nemesis_.

"Sensors, status?"

The Rigellian ensign busied himself with his console. "Gravimetric waves and subspace distortions are throwing off our sensors, so I can't detect much, say, no more than a _Constitution_ can."

The _Nemesis_ was equipped with large, powerful sensors, capable of charting an entire system in under twelve hours and tracking a cloaked bird-of-prey clean from K-7 to Qo'nos. However, thanks to the sphere, her capabilities were reduced.

"So, we're reduced to being normal for a bit." Tori said dryly. "Helm, start moving us towards the sphere. Yellow Alert."

The _Nemesis_ prowled forward. "Tactical, keep an eye out for tachyons. We know some Klingons are acting as proxy, so be on-"

Weapons fire struck the shields, cutting off Tori's sentence with the red alert klaxons and shaking. "Report!"

"Nine Klingon D-4x birds-of-prey just decloaked." Sensors reported.

Tori snarled. "Evasive pattern alpha-two. Return fire!"

While she was an Intelligence operative, Tori was no stranger to fighting.

Neither was the _Nemesis_.

* * *

 **USS _Redemption_**

* * *

With a short rumble, the _Redemption_ emerged on the other side.

"Report." I called out.

Nelen whistled. "We just ran across a spacial distortion."

I grimaced. I had read about the damage those distortions had done to the NX-01, and they couldn't protect themselves with Trellium-D thanks to its poisonous qualities to Vulcans. The _Redemption_ , however, had Trellium-K as part of her armor belt, which was a synthetic version that wasn't poisonous.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Two million kilometers from a sphere." Nelen frowned and worked at his console more. "I'm picking up spheres, debris from spheres… also picking up weapons fire."

"Between what?"

"I'm getting something, but it's the devil to pick out. I can tell it's large. Very large."

"Well whatever it is, we should help out." Tallasa advised. "I'm reading seven Klingon ships, D-4 variant."

I nodded. "Cloak the ship and take us in."

* * *

It was black, it was bad, and it was huge.

The ship looked like the badass uncle of a _Constitution_ , spitting out red bursts of fire and torpedoes.

The vessel was 1465 meters long, three hundred more than the _Odyssey-_ class.

To put it simply, the ship was a dreadnought.

And frankly, it didn't look like she needed help. By the time we reached her, she had already killed another BoP, and was working at the others.

"Well, we should help anyway." I said, shaking off my amazement. "Tam, attack pattern Antilles alpha."

Shimmering into view, the _Redemption_ fired a barrage of fire into a D-4, which had diverted its shields forward to survive the dreadnought's barrage.

The bird's engines exploded, breaking off it's port wing and sending it into an uncontrolled spin, ballistic. Tallasa finished it with a parting torpedo.

The remaining birds scattered at the new threat, trying to regroup.

"After them Tam, keep them off balance. Attack pattern gamma."

The battlecruiser spun in, spraying scatter fire and VATAs.

* * *

Tori observed the little ship. It was small compared to the second vessel of the _Vengeance_ -class; no bigger than the engineering section.

But she was fast, heavily armed, and had a good pilot at the helm.

She also looked like a Starfleet ship, but almost like she was a descendant of the _Nemesis_ herself.

"Captain!" The sensors officer called out. "I managed to clean up the interference! Three BoPs behind us, cloaked!"

Tori smiled. "Tactical, activate defensive mode and bring us about for a broadside. Computer, activate Scorpio."

Second ship of the _Vengeance_ -class and the first ship of the second bloc, the _Nemesis_ had many differences from the vessel that crashed (or rammed) into San Francisco.

The 'hole' in the saucer had been filled, used as living quarters and labs. Her armament was reduced, slightly, to place the massive sensor equipment that allowed them to detect the cloaked Klink ships.

She also carried extensive science equipment, and several more modifications. She had two special mods, a offensive and defensive mode. Activation of either modes brought additional armor online and brought the ship's still extensive broadside arrays online. The difference was one special system that was activated with a word from the captain.

The defensive mode's special ability was an EMP blast.

The D-4s were forced out of cloak, shields down and systems disrupted, and the withering barrage that followed cut down two of them. The third managed to dive out of the worst of it, lacing the _Nemesis'_ dorsal shields with fire.

A pair of silver torpedoes from the new Starfleet battlecruiser deterred it, sending the ship reeling with far more damage than a photon torpedo should have done.

The battlecruiser flashed up the _Nemesis'_ bow, chased by a pair of birds-of-prey. Four torpedoes shot from their tubes, only to be shot down by a solid, orange beam.

Tori blinked. "Sensors, get scans on that ship. Someone that has effective sustained beam weapons needs to be on our good side. Tactical, get those BoPs off-"

The _Nemesis_ shook again, much harder than any of the previous hits had.

"Intruders on decks ten, twelve, twenty, and two!" Ops called out. "Boarding pods!"

"Security teams en-route!"

Tori snarled. The _Nemesis_ didn't have an extensive security team onboard, and against many Klingons scattered across the ship, they would have a hard time eliminating them.

"We need to finish this up! Comms, get that ship on the horn!"

* * *

"Sir, we're being hailed!" Lieutenant Marlin called out. "It's the dreadnought!"

I frowned, then looked to Daniels. "Can I talk to them?"

He shrugged. "Well, they're not from our timeline, so the Temporal Prime Directive doesn't go into full effect. Just don't give them too much information."

I nodded. "Marlin, route the call to my tac screen. Tal, take over for a moment."

The screen changed to show the dreadnought's captain. It was a woman, light-complexed, with red-brown hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore a variant of the 23rd century uniform, command yellow.

"This is Fleet Admiral Wedge Antilles of the USS _Redemption_ , how may I help you?"

The woman snorted. _"I'm Captain Tori Reagan of the USS Nemesis. Sorry to bother you Admiral, but we're in a bit of a sticky situation. We have boarders across the ship, and our security forces are having a hard time keeping them out of critical areas. I know I'm taking a step, but we need help here."_

I smiled. "Don't worry Captain, we're Starfleet too. I'm sending over my assault battalion. We'll force any birds out of your rear arc, then we'll beam them over. Just me me beam in coordinates."

Reagan nodded offscreen. _"We're sending you the info now."_

"Copy that. Give me a moment." I turned to Nelen. "Force them out of the _Nemesis'_ rear arc! Marlin, tell Commander Wilhelm to get ready."

"Yes sir!"

The _Redemption_ swooped in, slamming the two D-4s that were harrying the dreadnought's rear arc with her cannons and three torpedoes each. One was destroyed, consumed by secondary explosions, and the other was disabled, losing both wings and engines, leaving three remaining BoPs.

"That's it, you're clear! Lower your shields."

 _Nemesis_ seemed to hesitate for a moment, before the rear shields finally lowered.

"Transporting." Thrum called out.

"Tam, up and over, then blast them. Nothing fancy."

"Copy that."

 _Redemption_ flipped over the dreadnought and unleashed seven hells on the D-4s. Their forward shields failed before the battlecruiser passed, and torpedoes from the _Nemesis_ sent them reeling backwards, destroying one outright, then quantum torpedoes from the _Redemption_ slammed into their rear shields.

The effect was catastrophic, and not only for the ships. Having been forced in a direction by a drastic force- the _Nemesis'_ torps - the inertial dampeners of the D-4s were already strained. So when the _Redemption's_ torpedoes slammed into them, it forced the ships to go back in the opposite direction in less than a second.

The inertial dampeners failed spectacularly, exploding from the strain, leaving both the ship and the crew exposed.

The Klingons were sent flying into the falls at .09 speed of light.

There was no surviving that.

Flesh met duranium alloy. The crews were flattened into a fine paste as their bones, skin, and blood were pulverized by how fast they were going when they hit.

And that wasn't the only thing that happened. With the failure of the inertial dampeners, the structural integrity field failed as well.

The structural integrity field was essentially a inertial dampener for the ship itself. It prevented the ship from succumbing to the stresses of combat maneuvers and warp speed, and kept the ship the way it looked.

With the BoP's structure weakened by the Nemesis' torpedoes, things weren't going to end well for the D-4s.

The one on the left folded in on itself, as the main body imploded, bringing the wings about to slam together.

Altogether, it looked like a book shutting itself, which, ironically, was naval slang for the failure of a ship's structure.

The other one seemed to rattle itself to pieces, sending components and plating flying in all directions, before the failing warp core consumed the vessel.

Tam whistled. "That was impressive."

"Marlin, get me the _Nemesis_." Captain Reagan's face came on screen. "Captain, what's your status?"

" _Your men are repelling the borders, but there's serious fighting in main engineering. If they aren't pushed out, we could risk a core breach-_ "

An explosion came from Reagan's left, sending her ducking to the deck as disruptor bolts flew by. The connection broke.

"Captain Reagan! Sithspawn!" I keyed the intercomm. "Thorin, I need a team of combat engineers on the _Nemesis_ to stabilize their core."

"Copy."

I reached below my seat and grabbed the compression rifle and personal shield generator hidden inside. "Daniels, you're with me. Thrum, site-to-site to the _Nemesis'_ bridge." I raised my rifle, ready.

"Energize."

* * *

Tori dove for cover as Klingons burst into the bridge. Ripping open a panel in the side of the helm console, she reached in and pulled out a rifle.

She stood and fired at a leading officer, taking off his head.

0718, on loan from the _Enterprise_ , fired precision bolts from his sidearm, taking out two charging warriors and wounding another.

Tori continued firing until she had to use her rifle to block an incoming bat'leth. Dropping down, she swept the warrior's feet out from under him, and in one smooth movement, pulled her pistol and slotted a bolt into his head.

Suddenly, orange bolts flew over Tori's head, sending a charging officer flying back. Sparing a glance toward the source, she spotted Admiral Antilles, wielding a twin pronged rifle.

"RAAHHH!"

Tori jerked back at the loud roar. Sweeping through the Klingons was a man in a massive suit of powered armor, clearing swaths of bodies with a - was that a _rocket hammer_?

A pair of Klingons swung at him, but the man simply caught the blades and crushed them.

"VHO'S NEXT?!"

Tori blinked rapidly as the massive German man just wiped the floor with the Klingons single-handley. He swung his hammer, catching a poor warrior right in the gut, breaking his ribcage, his spine, his pelvis, and crushing all his internal organs. The Klink was dead before he even hit the wall, and slid to the floor spinelessly.

"HAHAH! I LIVE FOR A GOOD FIGHT!"

One final swordmaster tried to hit the man through the gaps in his armor, but he simply grabbed the Klingon by his face and slammed him into a bulkhead, splattering grey matter and pink blood across it. The body slumped to the ground.

"And don't vother getting back up."

Antilles stepped up to the warrior. "Good job Reinhardt."

"No problem, Adviral."

Antilles turned to Tori. "Captain Reagan. It's nice to meet you."

* * *

I inwardly grinned as Reagan gaped. "I- nice to meet you too."

I nodded, then turned back to Reinhardt. "Status?"

"Borders in Engineering are being repelled as ve speak. Thorin's engineers are working at stabilizing the core as vell."

"Good." I looked around the bridge. "Go ahead and handle your men, Commander, I'll deal with this."

The massive man nodded. "Yes sir."

I turned to Captain Reagan. "Most of the damage you've taken is due to the boarders, but it should be easily fixed once the warp core is stabilized."

I heard a groan. I turned towards the source and saw an injured crewman on the ground. Swearing internally, I pulled out my tricorder and kneeled next to the girl.

"Where does it hurt?" I asked. Reagan joined me, but I didn't acknowledge her.

"Took a disruptor bolt to the shoulder." The ensign ground out. "Can't feel my arm."

I nodded, pulling my pack out and grabbing the medical items. I worked fast, fixing the wound as best as I could.

"That should help out until you can get to the medbay." I helped her up. "You're good."

The young woman smiled appreciatively. "Thank you sir."

I watched her limp out.

"Thank you, Admiral." Reagan said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, who the hell are you?"

I sighed. "Daniels." I called out, waving the temporal agent over. "Can I tell her?"

He thought about it, then nodded. "Go ahead, just don't tell her too much."

"Alright. I, and the crew of the _Redemption_ , are from the 25th century of an alternate timeline, similar to yours. We are here to stop the Sphere Builders."

Reagan gaped again. "Well."

"Captain." 0718 cut in. "I have insertion point."

Reagan regained her composure. "Good. Ready your equipment."

"Mind filling me in?" I asked.

"We're here to take down this sphere. 0718 here devised a way to destroy the spheres with strategically placed explosives. We need to go in and plant those explosives."

I nodded. "Do you need help?"

Reagan scratched her head. "It would be appreciated, especially if your teams are anything like that Commander." She indicated the direction that Reinhardt left.

"If I may," Daniels said. "I advise that you wear space-rated gear. The Builders could vent atmosphere."

"Good point. Do you have any combat-rated environmental suits?"

She shook her head. "No, we don't. 0718 doesn't need one though."

"Copy that." I tapped my combadge. "Tallasa, I need my MACO armor and another suit beamed to the Nemesis' bridge. Tell Reinhardt to get a team together to go over to the sphere."

" _Roger_."

"I'll stay over here and assist with the repairs." Daniels informed as two crates were beamed in.

"Got it." I looked over Captain Reagan again as she cracked open a crate. "Now, I don't mean to be sexist, but isn't the uniform for women in this era involve a skirt?"

Reagan smirked and straightened, posing. "Not exactly a great idea to run around on a combat mission in a skirt, Admiral. Better for active deployments if I have my legs free. Don't worry, I've got great legs in my normal uniform."

I reddened. "I-I didn't mean it like that."

She smiled knowingly at me. "I know."

* * *

We met again after changing into our armor.

Reagan now had her red hair into a knot at the base of her neck in order to keep it out of her face. She carried a rifle, a pistol, and some sort of weapons across her back. "Ready, Admiral Antilles."

I smiled. "Call me Wedge."

She smiled back. "Call me Tori then."

We shook hands. I nodded to Daniels. "Energize."

* * *

 **Author's Note: And here we are! Now you see the alterations I've made to the original story. Say hello to Captain Tori Reagan and the crew of the** _ **Nemesis.**_ **You really didn't think that Starfleet would throw away the design of the** _ **Vengeance?**_ **HELL no! Granted, this ship isn't focused entirely on warfare. She's more of an intel gathering ship.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Kelvin Timeline**

 **Command Sphere, Insertion Point**

* * *

Tori, Wedge, and 0718 materialized on a walkway near the central power generator. Commander Reinhardt was already there with three other MACOs.

Tori blinked rapidly at the sight before her. Reinhardt stood, hunkered down, with a large, rectangular energy shield projected from a lion's head-shaped device on his left forearm. It was tanking the fire from a Klingon team with ease. The other three MACOs were firing through the shield, taking out their targets with practiced precision. It was slow going though, because the Klinks were sticking to cover and not charging forward. For once.

"We don't have time for this." Tori heard Wedge mutter. "Pharah!" He called out. One of the MACOs, this one armored with a specialty suit and a helmet that looked after an eagle's beak, turned to look at Wedge. "Clear them out!"

The woman nodded. "Roger!"

Again, much to Tori's surprise, thrusters ignited on the woman's suit, and she rocketed into the air.

Her hand, Tori noticed, held a rocket launcher, about as long as her forearm. The soldier fired rockets that, from her new vantage point, landed solidly among the Klinks, blowing some apart, or sending them flying off the walkway to their demise.

The Klinks did return fire, but instead of hitting the woman's armor, it hit-was that a personal _shield_?

Tori turned to Wedge. "How much advancements do you _have_ in the 25th century?!"

He just gave a shit-eating grin. "Temporal Prime Directive."

She scowled and smacked him on the back of the head. "Ass."

* * *

I slid down to the console in the recessed platform. "This where we put the explosives?" I asked 0718.

"Affermative."

"Alright." I quickly planted the spatial charge, then moved to the console. "Thrum, I'm sending you data from the sphere. I need you to look it over."

" _Got it."_ The Furling was silent for less than a second, and when he spoke, he sounded a little shaken. " _Looks like the Builders were experimenting with other dimensions. They've_ destroyed _them in an attempt to come back. Some of this stuff looks familiar…"_

"Keep looking." I ordered, starting to crawl back up. "On to the-"

I jerked my head up as a collective roar reached my ears. Charging across one of the walkways was a dozen Klingons, disruptors and bat'leths raised in challenge. I raised my rifle and Reinhardt swung around as they reached our platform, ready to strike…

Only to be cut down by a massive orange beam.

I blinked, witnessed what was left of the Klinks-twelve pairs of booted feet-then turned to the source of the beam.

Captain Reagan stood there, hefting a massive phaser cannon and a shit-eating grin adorning her face.

She suddenly reminded me of a good friend…

"Well."

Tori's grin grew wider. "Hey, it's my turn to amaze you."

Reinhardt chuckled deeply. I threw him a glare as we started to the next platform.

I looked down at the assault weapon. "Where'd you get that?" I asked.

Tori hefted the weapon. "This? This is a modified starship-grade phaser cannon I took from a broken shuttle." I whistled. "Thing's a beast." She elaborated. "Requires it's own power source and I need time in between shots."

"Force." I muttered.

We reached the next platform without much resistance. Again, I slid down to the console, planted another charge, and downloaded more data.

" _This one's like ours again."_ Thrum informed. " _Significant difference though: the Dominion and Iconians allied. They attack the Builders, the Builders retaliated against their core worlds, and in response the Iconians destroyed subspace."_

I shook my head. "Talk about screwing things over."

" _Shit- Wedge! They've deployed the arms!"_ Thrum called out.

I swore and watched the sky. When the NX-01's crew infiltrated an undamaged sphere, they were attacked by a self-defense mechanism in the form of grappler arms. One of the _Enterprise's_ MACOs had been killed by one of them, and we needed to be on our guard.

" _Six o'clock high!"_

I spun around and nailed an encroaching arm with an ultra-dense beam, causing it to recoil and allowing Captain Reagan to nail it with a cannon blast.

" _Twelve low, three mid and eight high!"_

Pharah and I dealt with eight, Tori and the other MACOs dealt with three, and Reinhardt handled twelve o'clock.

The grasper snapped out, trying to grab him, but the commander simply slapped it aside with his forearm. The arm recoiled, but came around again.

"Treffen Sie meinen hammer, Metallarm!"

The crusader brought his hammer around and hit the arm like Babe Ruth hitting a home run. He followed through, backslapping the grasper, weakening the joints again, and, with a final roar, brought the hammer down, utterly crushing the grasper.

"Blimey, Rei, isn't this a bit much?" One of the other MACOs, a small, British woman that went by the nickname Tracer commented, kicking the crushed arm. It whimpered pitifully, one of the grabbers moved weakly.

"Heh." The german lifted the hammer, then stepped on and over the arm. It squealed in protest. "It vould hawe been much if I znapped the thing off it's nounting."

The arm started spouting sounds that I assumed was a blue streak in binary.

"Hey." I tapped the arm on it's photosensor. "You could have gotten it worse."

It moaned in response.

* * *

" _Jagh!_ "

Tori dove for cover as a barrage of disruptor fire raked over the platform. Even Reinhardt's shield threatened to break under the barrage. He took to cover once everyone had gotten to their own cover.

"That's not good."

Peeking up, Tori saw a group of twelve Klingons, with two operating a pair of heavy tripod-mounted disruptor miniguns. Pharah fired off several bolts from a normal rifle, while Reinhardt fired beams from a wrist mounted gun.

"Great." Wedge muttered. "Klingon E-Webs."

"What?"

He shook off the question. "Nothing."

"Captain!" Both Tori and Wedge turned to Tracer at the same time. Tori ducked her head and blushed when she realized it was Wedge she was calling out to. "I can get in there if I have some cover!"

"Copy that!" The admiral pulled a grenade from his belt, pressed the timer, and tossed it. It clunked to a landing on the bridge connecting the two platforms. Smoke rapidly obscured the sightlines between the platform.

"Time to live up to your nickname Tracer!"

The Brit grinned and darted out of cover, straight into the Klink's blind fire. Somehow, the petite woman weaved between the bolts, letting some, at the _most_ , graze her.

Disappearing into the smoke, Tori heard several shouts of astonishment, anger, and reports of handheld disruptors. Then a loud explosion reached their ears.

On que, Pharah launched upwards and Reinhardt stepped out of cover. As Tori watched, a port opened on the back of the massive man's armor. With a roar, a thruster ignited and propelled the commander through the smoke, blowing it away. Wedge took off after him

Tracer had destroyed both mounted weapons and was darting around, wielding a pair of beam machine pistols. She had already taken down three Klinks, and another fell to Pharah's fire support.

Reinhardt introduced himself, charging into the formation and pinning two Klingons to a pillar. Stuck between Builder construction and four hundred pounds of armored German, the Klingons crumpled as every bone in their bodies were crushed into a fine paste.

Coming out of the charge, the mammoth of a man swung his hammer around him, sweeping three Klinks off their feet, allowing Wedge to take them down. The rest were quickly cleaned up.

* * *

"... suggest letting your Klingons do what they do best."

I scowled as a familiar voice reached my ears.

" _I will deal with this disruption."_

Reaching the final platform, I spotted the scarred, damaged visage of the Envoy and three holographic Sphere Builders.

" _It is time that you learned that you cannot prevail, intruder."_ The lead Builder spoke. " _You will fall to ruin._

"Not this time." I raised my rifle at the Envoy, but a temporal transporter grabbed him and he was gone.

"Blast."

Tori, 0718 and I slid down to the power console while the MACOs covered us. 0718 started planting the charges while Tori and I approached the Builder.

"I don't suppose we can resolve this peacefully?" I asked.

" _No. The Tuterians were a peaceful race… until your misbegotten Alliance committed an act of genocide!"_

"I assume you mean the time we used the Timeship?" The Builder nodded p. "I thought so. Nothing good could have come from that." I sighed, sad.

" _Convenient, that you feel remorse now. But no matter. The Envoy has given us the means to manipulate events. We have begun to undo the damage, but we need to study it more. Quantum realms like this are ours to study without risk to our own."_

"You have no right!" Tori declared angrily.

" _And should this realm unravel_ ," The Builder continued, giving Tori a pointed look. " _There are an infinite number remaining to us."_

Tori stepped forward, but I laid a restraining hand on her shoulder, before turning back to the Builder, fixing her with a dangerous glare. "So, you speak of suffering a unintended genocide, but you would be willing to commit it against others who hadn't even committed that sin."

" _Yes, just as your people were willing to do so to achieve your goals! Do not presume to judge me, murderer!"_

"Then offer me the same grace." I replied quietly.

The Builder blinked in shock.

"I stood against the test," I explained. "But one voice couldn't change a flood, in this case."

" _But you could have stopped it."_

"How could I have I known that in reverting back, the Borg would target the Tuterians and you would be forced into another realm?"

" _Bah! No matter. The Expanse Protocol will destroy you, and maybe then we will have some measure of retribution."_ The Tuterian turned away.

A memory came to me, one of a smiling Tuterian and a scowling Krenim. "Clauda."

The Builder froze.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

She stood there for a long, long time. " _I have not heard that name in millenia…"_ And she was gone.

The Sphere rumbled. "Something's happening." 0718 declared.

"And what made you think that, guv?"

"The Sphere is emitting intense amounts of thermobaric radiation. We must complete our objective at once!"

"Incoming!" Pharah called out.

"I need time to set a feedback pulse through the sphere network." 0718 informed. "Cover me."

"We have your back." As Tori joined the MACOs, I pocketed the strand of hair I had picked from the captain's shoulder. I had a hunch…

The reports of Pharah's rockets brought me back to reality, and I rushed forward to join them.

* * *

"Starfleet has engaged the Builders."

"So? They are doing our job for us."

Loud whale-like noises filled the air, before they were translated. "Do not forget the times they helped us."

"Wnd we helped them. The debt is paid, we have no reason to-"

A humanoid ran into the chamber. There was no preamble. "The Spheres are active!"

Unease rippled across the room. "This changes things…"

"Indeed."

Rapid clicks and chirps emerged. "We shall send ships."

"Agreed."

"We agree as well."

"Indeed."

Whale noises. "The Council agrees."

* * *

"I have it. Virus implanted."

"Good!" I shouted, dodging a disruptor bolt. " _Redemption,_ five to beam up!"

" _Nemesis,_ two to beam directly to the bridge!"

I nodded to Tori. "Good luck. You'll need it."

Her confident smirk was the last thing I saw before I was back on the _Redemption._

* * *

 **Author's Notes: The battle closes! Here we see some of the other members of Overwatch appear as I adapt them into STO. You may see some more characters appear in future stories. Also, Tracer has not had her 'incident' yet.**

 **To Guest reviewer: No, I will not be adding the T6 variant of the** _ **Galaxy-X (**_ **or** _ **Devron-**_ **class) to this story. I have no reason to. However, it would be cool to write a battle between the** _ **Vengeance**_ **and the** _ **Yamato**_ **-class. People have mentioned or used the** _ **Devron**_ **-class before; if you're looking for an honorable mention, read my Sacrifice of One story.**

 **Post edit: Look, if you want a _Vengeance_ vs _Yamato_ showdown, why don't you write one yourself? I'm not the person to ask, and I have no interest of writing that. Also, if you want to talk to me, make an account and Private message me. I can't easily respond to you like this.**


	4. Chapter 4

**USS** _ **Redemption**_

* * *

"Status!" I ordered, settling into the chair.

"The radiation emitting from the Sphere is interfering our sensors," Nelen informed. "The shields and the trellium should protect us for a while before we start to feel the effects. _Nemesis_ will have it worse."

 **(BGM: Star Wars: A New Hope Soundtrack - 10. The Battle of Yavin)**

"Marlin, get them on our tacnet. We need to be able to coordinate. Nelen, give me a tachyon pulse."

I felt the thrum of the warp core rise slightly. "Nothing."

I nodded. "Good, no Klingons."

" _Admiral, we've lost contact with the explosives."_ Tori informed as the dreadnought flew above the _Redemption._ " _0718 needs time to reestablish communications."_

"Copy that." I nodded to Thrum's avatar. "Launch the _Redeemer._ "

The deck shuddered as the escort lifted off from it's cradle, moving to wingman position beside her mothership.

"Interspatial rift!" Nelen called out. "Two ships, battleship and cruiser analogues!"

"Those must be the Builders. Tam, attack pattern zeta. Keep your distance, we don't know their capabilities just yet."

 _Redemption_ and _Redeemer_ opened up with their cannons and torpedoes, Alpha striking the round battleship.

It took the barrage on powerful shields, shrugging it off and replying with weapons of it's own and… something else.

Strange distortions ran across the bridge. One of the consoles exploded when the distortion crossed them, sending the crewman manning it flying, coming to a rest in front of me, injured.

I rose to check on him. "Evasive pattern delta! Get some distance and cover us with quantums!" The crewman had bad burns across his face and arms. "Medbay, emergency medical beam out for crewman Amya!"

I stayed beside him until he disappeared, then moved over and joined Nelen at his console. "What was that?"

"Some kind of spatial-temporal disturbance, induced by the battleship." Nelen looked me in the eyes. "They have control of the local timespace."

I swore and made my way back to the chair. Tallasa rained long distance phaser beams as we circled. "Daniels, do you have any advice on how to combat these ships?"

" _Their distortions are usually localized._ " The temporal agent informed from his place on the _Nemesis_ , which was putting out a constant stream of phaser bolts and the occasional torpedo spread. " _But it takes time to recharge and use those abilities, so when they do, you have some time to strike before they use the abilities again.."_

"Roger that."

" _Outlining and designating generated distortions on the tactical display and HUD."_ Thrum reported. " _Passing on script to the_ Nemesis _as well._ "

I nodded. "Attack pattern Riker two. Take us in."

* * *

"Activate assault mode!" Tori snarled. "Circle and give that battleship a taste of the broadside array!"

Heavy bolts splashed against the Builder battleship's shields, straining them under the intense barrage. The battleship returned, beams splashing against the dreadnaught's powerful shielding.

 _Redeemer_ swooped in, breaking the warship's shields with her heavy cannons and scoring it's armor plating. The battleship returned fire with beams, torpedoes and a temporal distortion, but the tiny ship rolled through the fire, gunned her engines, and raced out of there.

Tori saw her opportunity. "Computer, activate Scorpio."

Two massive photon torpedo launchers lowered from the saucer section, placing the battleship directly in it's sights. Dozens of torpedoes left the tubes, streaking towards the warship, bringing antimatter death raining down on the spherical starship. The battleship was bracketed by explosions as torpedoes struck and detonated around it. It was death by a thousand cuts, with direct hits tearing out great gouges from the ship and proximity detonations shredding the armor. It finally succumbed to the damage, swallowed up by whatever powered it.

As the the same stuff that powered ships obliterated the heavy warship, _Redemption_ engaged the cruiser, lacing it with orange blasts promising death if they ever got past that thin energy barrier that protected the bulbous, dagger-like ship.

The _Redemption_ seemed to slow as she was caught in a time dilation field, but her shields seemed to flash and change color, and then she was moving at full speed again, getting back out of the field.

" _Thank the Force for temporal shielding."_ Tori heard Wedge mutter.

She frowned. Temporal shielding? Didn't she hear 0718 talk about experimenting with that? And now that she thought about it, there was talk, rumors in the intelligence community. _Enterprise_ had gotten help from some sort of superdreadnought with powerful beam weapons and deadly silver torpedoes. Maybe…

"Attack pattern Pike Alpha." Tori called out. "Let's lend them a hand."

* * *

I grunted as a barrage of beams struck the port shields and rattled the ship.

"Starboard shields down to sixty four percent!" Straa called out.

"Keep me posted." I ordered. "Captain, load the hyper-plasma torpedoes."

A savage grin adorned the Andorian tactical officer's face. "Yes sir."

"Attack pattern Craig beta." I called over the tacnet.

The _Redemption_ keeled over and cloaked, disappearing from the cruiser's sensors. It had no time to worry about us, though, as the _Nemesis_ and _Redeemer_ came in and slammed it with enough firepower to shake a _Sovereign-_ class. It only survived by diverting all it's shield power front.

And that was what we were looking for. The _Redemption_ decloaked behind the cruiser and Tallasa rammed three hyper-plasma torpedoes and two chronoton VATAs straight into the ship's engine block. It exploded spectacularly in a bright ball of plasma.

I grinned. "Captain, status on the explosives?"

" _Connecting now. Shouldn't be long."_

"Another rift!" Nelen called out. "Another cruiser and four frigates."

"Cloak us again. _Redeemer,_ put on the pressure!"

We had just barely cloaked and crossed into firing range when an… explosion of sorts erupted just to the side of the ship.

I grunted as the ship was pulled forcibly to starboard.

" _Timeline tear!"_ Daniels called out. " _You've got ten seconds to get out of range!"_

"Sithspawn!" I swore. "Thrum, afterburners!"

At my command, Thrum increased power to the engines, activated the rear retrothrusters, widened the plasma exhaust, and increased power to the inertial dampeners.

The _Redemption_ shot out of the area like a bar of soap under a foot, going at warp 0.89. A second later, the tear in the timelines collapsed violently in a temporal explosion that would have done serious damage to the battlecruiser, had she not gotten out.

Pulling out of range, I heard the ship groan. "Status."

" _What I just pulled put some serious strain on the engines, Wedge."_ Thrum said. " _We'll be running a sixty percent efficiency for a while."_

I hissed. Speed was one of the _Redemption's_ major advantages. With the engines on a limit, we'd have to rely on our maneuverability, shields and armor.

I keyed the intercom to engineering. "Thorin, I need engines back to full as soon as you can!""

Mumbles and curses came across the line. " _We're working on it!"_

I rolled my eyes. "Thrum, activate the Ablative Hazard Shielding. Tam, attack pattern Pinkerton Omega."

* * *

"Commander!" The comms officer called out. "The Spheres are activating!"

Darh, commander of the large dreadnought, scowled. "Engineering, I need more speed!"

" _Any more and we'll blow out the drives!"_

Darh growled. "We need to get there now! The galaxy depends on us!"

* * *

Things were not going well.

After fighting off two more waves of Builder vessels, the extra-dimensionals had sent in a veritable _fleet_ to destroy the three ships, consisting of three battleships, three cruisers, and seven frigates. That much firepower was a bit much, even for the dreadnought and her friends from another timeline.

 _Redeemer_ had been caught in a time loop, out of the battle until the other two ships could get her out, and they didn't have the time.

 _Redemption's_ engines still weren't back up to hundred percent, and it was showing. She was getting hit a lot more. If it wasn't for what looked like secondary shields that were diverting the energy they absorbed into the main shields, she would be taking hits on her hull.

 _Nemesis_ was faring worse. Her shields were barely holding together and some systems had gone down. Against a Klingon or Romulan fleet, the dreadnought would have obliterated them, but the Builders were no conventional enemy. Their use of time was deadly.

"Captain." 0718 called out. "We have fifteen minutes before the Expanse forms."

Tori snarled. "We can't get through! Stay on getting to those explosives!"

Both ships had claimed five kills in total; three frigates, one cruiser and a battleship.

It still wasn't enough.

"Wedge, things aren't looking good!" Tori grunted as a torpedo slammed against the forward shields, taking them down. "I just lost my forward shields! Odds are-"

" _NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!"_

Tori startled back from the comm built into her chair.

" _We will win, because we_ have _to. I don't care if I have to face down the entire Builder fleet, or if I have to blast a hole in the Sphere and ram my burning ship into the internal workings, your world will LIVE ON!"_

Tori was left speechless, yet, as everyone processed the pilot's speech, they were filled with inspiration and a determination unlike anything they had experienced before. _Nemesis'_ captain smiled grimly. "Load all torpedo tubes! I want every torp we have in transit right now! Computer, Scorpio!"

"Captain!" Her sensors officer called out. "Subspace vortex!"

"What?!" Tori snapped her head around. "Who?"

The officer's face was one of pure disbelief.

* * *

With speed and unstoppable power, came the Xindi. Led by a mammoth Aquatic _Narcine-_ class carrier dreadnought, flanked by a pair of Primate _Ateleth-_ class dreadnought cruisers, escorted by a _fleet_ of Insectoid escort carriers, Aquatic frigates, and Reptilian escorts, they descended on the Builders with a burning hot fury. They had dared build the Spheres again, and the Xindi would show them that this action would _not_ go unanswered.

Builder frigates died as attack wings of Xindi assault craft strafed their hulls and shields; the ones weakened from the battle with the Starfleet warships died from the first pass.

The cruisers fared a bit better, but Tori had ordered Scorpio and the _Nemesis_ was still in offensive mode. Over two and a half dozen torpedoes detonated around the warship's shields, bringing them down and allowing the Primate dreadnoughts to blast them apart with kemocite-laced torpedoes.

The battleships… well, they faced the _Narcine._ And a _Narcine_ had weaponry comparable to that of a _Bortas_ heavy cruiser _._

The dreadnought laced both battleships with heavy blue bioplasmatic bolts, blowing out their shields in the first two volleys. The dreadnought did not let up, even as the two ships fired everything they had at the carrier. Four bio bolts blew a hole in the front of one, allowing a single kemocite torpedo to fly into the breach.

The battleship seemed to illuminate from the inside as a bright orange light poured out from windows, engines or breaches in the hull. A moment later it exploded, sending debris crashing into it's companion, crushing it's starboard side and sending it into a spin. The second battleship tried to arrest its movement, but the arrowhead-shaped _Narcine_ was there. She laced the bulbous warship with her entire arsenal, turning it into so much space debris.

In the space of five minutes, the Xindi had eliminated the entire Sphere Builder force.

* * *

I sagged back into my chair in relief as the Xindi fleet parted around the _Redemption._

"Nelen, get the _Redeemer_ out of that time loop. Tori, do you have the explosives?"

" _Almost..."_

"Wedge…" Tallasa warned.

I sighed. "More?"

"A Builder fleet."

Marlin called out. "Communication from the Xindi!"

"Onscreen."

A Primate appeared on the vidscreen. " _This is Commander Darh. Complete your task. We shall hold off the Builders."_

I nodded. "Thank you for your assistance, Commander."

He smiled, a toothy, wide grin. " _For all our homes._ "

The connection cut.

"Captain, anytime now!"

" _We have them!"_

"Then by all means, _blow it the fuck up!"_

A moment later, after the _Redeemer_ was freed from her time loop, the Sphere started imploding in on itself, crumpling, growing smaller and smaller and smaller, releasing several pulses of energy before it disappeared from existence.

With that, the distortions stopped. The Builder fleet fled in droves, escaping before they died of exposure to our dimension.

I grinned. "Good job everyone. Tam, put some distance between us and here. Captain, if you could follow us, I'd like to talk to you."

" _Sure thing._ "

I sighed, letting the stress and adrenaline leave my system. "Warp three. Engage."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Well, here we are, after an epic confrontation. Phew, that took a while. Anyways, I turned 18 about a month ago, so there's that…**

 **Alright, one more chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Five Light Years outside the Delphic Expanse**

 **U.S.S.** _ **Redemption**_

 **Ready Room**

* * *

Closing the scanner module, I turned to my desk. "Thrum, run a full biological analysis on the sample I just uploaded and put it up here."

The table lit up, displaying a full array of semi-tangible holograms in front of me, showing all sorts of medical technobabble

"Thrum, pull up medical datafile on Starfleet personnel C-231529 and compare DNA."

I had grabbed a strand of hair from Tori and I decided to run a DNA scan, just to see who she was in my universe and see if she was related to who I thought she was.

" _87 percent match to medical datafile, accounting for genetic changes through generations and, of course, the different timelines."_

I nodded, smiling. "Open a comm line to the _Nemesis_ and ask Captain Reagan if she can come over. Tell her I have a gift for her."

* * *

 **U.S.S.** _ **Nemesis**_

 **Ready Room**

* * *

"Computer, run quantum RNA analysis on the _Redemption,_ then compare it to records on unidentified starship S-1."

" _Access to records requires Alpha-level authorization."_

"Confirm, Reagan Iota-seven-Sigma-one-nine-Gamma."

" _Confirmed._ " The computer was silent for a second. "Redemption _RNA matches that of starship S-1._ "

Tori leaned back, contemplating. Two ships, from the same universe, from the same timeline, came here and helped Starfleet?

She reached forward and hit her intercom button. "Comms, get me a line to the _Redemption,_ I wish to-"

" _Begging your pardon, ma'am, but they've already called._ " Tori blinked. " _Admiral Antilles wishes to speak with you on his ship._ "

She smiled. "Tell him I'll be over shortly."

Tori rose to leave, but paused and looked back to the desk.

"Computer, open plans file V-21. Here's what we're gonna do…"

* * *

I sat back in the conference room chair, twirling a datachip between my fingers.

" _Are you sure this is wise sir?"_ Thrum asked, avatar standing next to me.

I nodded. "I'm sure. It seems like they need the edge."

Before Thrum could reply, the door opened and Captain Reagan strode in.

I stood. "Thrum, go dark in this room."

He nodded, and his avatar vanished, with only a click across the comms to tell me he was gone.

Tori raised an eyebrow. "What'ya have there?"

I smiled and tossed her the chip. She caught it easily. "That there has specifications for sustained beam weaponry, improved photon torpedoes, alongside data that should leap your computer systems past anything in this time. You've gotta work for it though."

Tori frowned. "Why are you giving this to me? Aren't you violating the Temporal Prime Directive?"

I shrugged. "You get the help my time never had. You need to prepare for threats that can wipe out all life in this galaxy. Besides, I don't see Daniels trying to tear my throat out."

She chuckled. "Well, I have something for you too."

She handed me a duotronic chip. I frowned at it, but grabbed a PADD that had a duotronic conversion port and slotted it in. It took a moment to process, but a moment later a hologram sprung up, displaying technical and structural data on something I never expected to see. My mouth dropped open.

"I-what-why?"

She grinned. "Well, I know you need help with everything that's been happening on your side, and she'll be a significant boon to your forces."

I shut off the hologram and transferred the data to an Omega-level encrypted isolinear chip.

"I can see the applications, but I think I'll be able to improve on the design. Thank you, Captain." I offered my hand.

Tori smiled and shook my hand. "Thank _you_ , Admiral. Without you, well, I don't know what would have happened."

I nodded and hit the comm. "Thrum, you can come back."

The door opened and Daniels stepped in. "Are you ready to go Admiral? Repairs on the _Nemesis_ are complete and we really shouldn't stay any longer than we have to- ARGH!"

Tori and I both stepped back as something flashed. "Thrum!"

Sensors in the room scanned every second of the event as Daniels writhed. Hair fell out of his scalp, his scars deepened, and his skin pulled in strange, different directions. After several long moments, he straightened out.

"I need to go."

I reached out to stop him, but he had already hit his commbadge and was snatched up by a temporal transporter.

"Thrum, what in the name of the Force just happened?"

The AI's avatar appeared, staring at the spot Daniels had stood.

" _I just read a massive surge of chronoton particles. Something happened to him, somewhen."_

I sighed. "Blasted time travel." I turned and shook Tori's hand. "Again, Captain, thank you for everything."

"Same to you."

"Good luck, and may the Force be with you."

* * *

 **Prime Timeline**

 **2413**

* * *

I sighed as the _Redemption_ exited the temporal wormhole. "Status report."

"No complications, we are green across the board." Straa reported.

" _Captain, the unigate generator just disappeared."_ Thorin called over the comm. " _Temporal recovery beacon._ "

I nodded. "Tam, set a course. Resume border patrol pattern, warp seven."

"Hold on sir." Nelen interrupted. "I've got a ship on an intercept course. _Odyssey-_ class. It's the _Resolution._ "

I grinned. It had been a while since I had seen Franklin Craig. "Onscreen."

The large MACO heavy command cruiser dropped out of warp, gliding to a stop beside the _Redemption,_ overshadowing the smaller cruiser.

"Just the man I was looking for. Open a comm line, I'll be in my ready room."

I slipped into my chair and keyed the screen. The smirking face of Franklin Craig appeared and I couldn't stop myself from grinning.

"Force, it's good to see you."

" _Good to see you too, Wedge."_

"What are you doing here? We're just a patrol-"

" _No need for the operational security, Admiral, I know what you're doing. Our 'friend' Daniels contacted me about three hours ago and told me to head here to talk to you."_

I frowned. "Thrum, secure and encrypt this line."

" _Done."_

Franklin snorted. " _What was that for?"_

I shrugged. "I don't want people knowing about easily accessible alternate realities. The only way people are breaking Thrum's encrypt is with another AI as advanced as he is and those are not exactly widespread."

" _So, what exactly were you doing in the Kelvin Timeline?"_

I blinked. "How do you know that?"

" _A couple weeks back Daniels approached me and sent me there to investigate the Spheres there. We came out and guess who met us?"_

I shrugged and motioned him to continue."

" _The_ Enterprise."

I laughed. "What is it with you and that ship?"

He chuckled. " _Can't get away from her, even across timelines. Anyways, we helped them destroy the Sphere, fend off some uppity Klingons and made it back in time for dinner with Diana. So, what did you do over there?"_

I shrugged. "Oh, nothing much. Just helped a 1450 meter-long Starfleet dreadnought, met the Builders, faced a fleet of Builder ships, then got saved by the Xindi with minutes to spare. Oh, also, I met your ancestor."

Franklin frowned. " _What?_ "

"Yeah, turns out the captain of the _Nemesis_ , a Tori Reagan, is your ancestor in both timelines. In this timeline, she was a Intelligence officer that commanded a intel-modified _Ranger-_ class battlecruiser. She was responsible for getting us a lot of game-changing info from the Romulans and Klingons. Unfortunately, she died when she sacrificed her ship to slow down a Klingon raid fleet in order for a Federation rapid response task force to get into position. She went down saving three outlying colonies." I smiled. "She _did_ leave behind two happily married children, one of which would go on to become your great-great-grandmother."

Craig leaned back, amazed. He was silent for a long while, running a hand through his hair, before he managed to speak again.

" _Wow. I never knew all that much about her aside from her heroism. Duotronic to isolinear wiped out a few of her files. What tipped you off_?"

"A big gun and a familiar grin."

" _Ha. True enough. My great grandparents always told me stories about her from_ their _parents. Sounds like her duplicate was just as badass."_

"That she was, that she was." I nodded sagely. "I gave her some stuff that should jump their weapons and computer programs decades ahead of their current tech base, give them an edge that we never had back then."

" _And how did you not get in trouble?"_

"Well, I don't see Temporal agents from two timelines trying to make me one with the Force, so I think I'm good."

Craig laughed at that; a hearty, boisterous sound. " _Ha! Well, did she give you anything?"_

I kept a straight face. "No, she didn't. She didn't expect a gift. She offered one, but I politely denied."

He nodded. " _Ah. Well then, better get going. Just came by to check up on you. Everything good over there?"_

"Yeah. Worst we got was some bleedthrough and some stress to the engines, but Thorin and his crew got it fixed up in good order."

" _Good. It was good talking to you Wedge, and I see you whenever the next galactic or multidimensional crisis comes around. Good luck."_

"Same to you. Force be with you, all those things."

He nodded, smiling and the screen cut to the Starfleet logo.

Outside my window, the _Resolution_ accelerated, opening a slipspace corridor and launching into it.

I turned back to my desk, inserted a isolinear chip into a port and keyed in my encrypted code.

"Thrum, open modification datafile Antilles J-1."

The desk came to life as the built in holoprojectors displayed terabytes of data, containing technical, structural, and weaponry readouts of the _Vengeance-_ class dreadnought.

Smiling, I leaned forward and got to work.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Here we are. At the end of this short little tenure into the Kelvin timeline. A little time with Franklin Craig, Heart of Frywinde's OC, and his ancestor from another timeline, Tori Reagan.**

 **I think I'll finish Beyond the War next, or whatever my muse decides to do. I might revisit Sacrifice of One, although…**

 **I think it's time for our pilot to come back home.**


End file.
